Saw an *emergency* mouth ulcer in surgery (Sat), which puts me in mind to ask
if anyone else uses my favourite mouth ulcer cure
You use one of those long matchstick-like things with silver nitrate on the
end. (not the silver N2 pencils..too broad). Then you very quickly touch the
ulcer with the silver nitrate, which stings a bit but not too much. And that
cures it!
But there are some important warnings...
a) The silver goes black on exposure to sunlight, so the patient has to
swallow their saliva and refrain from touching their mouth for half an hour.
Also you have to wash your hands promptly, not wipe them on your jeans as I
once did while a ship's doc (yes, revolting I know!). The black stain was
permanent on the jeans and the patient, who for some reason put her fingers in
her mouth, got stained black skin all around her mouth till the top layer was
shed some 7-10days later! I've not made that mistake again!
b) Don't wash the stick..it's pretty much sterile anyway by virtue of not
being a good culture medium, and all you do is wash the silver away, thus
getting splashes on your worksurface which also go black later.
c)Give the stick (wrapped in tissue or something) to the pt for future use so
you don't keep seeing them (or their friends+ family)
d) A very brief dab is all that's needed. You see a colour change on the ulcer
quite quickly.
e)We use silver nitrate on other parts of the body (incl the cervix) so it's
safe enough in small doses. The Germans use it as standard treatment for mouth
ulcers
Grace
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